Red Dead Redemption II One Shots

Dutch Van Der Linde ~No Matter What~

Requested by DeadlyNightshade292

Theme: Angst/conflict.
Word count: 5804!!!!
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How had this got so out of hand? You thought while placing the letter on the side, on top of one of your lover's many books. Then you shook your head and decided to slide it in place of his bookmark, maybe you'd be far away before he saw it. With a great heavy feeling in your chest, you took one final look down at him. You loved him, you loved him so much but you couldn't stay here. You couldn't live like this not with all the arguments you'd had. It was uncomfortable for you and for the camp as well.

You managed to tear yourself away from him, an overwhelming sadness crawling through your body as you looked around the silent camp, soft snores and groans from your sleeping friends, you didn't want to leave it all behind, but you had to.

You smiled over at the white horse stood up at the other side of the camp, you walked over to him and patted him softly.
"Be a good boy Count" You scratched his head and fed him an apple before walking towards Valentine. This was it, this was final, you didn't know where you were going really but you'd taken two hundred of your own money and left forty-five and a small bag of jewels for the camp as a peace offering. You'd waited until Javier switched over with Sean for the night watch, that usually took around ten minutes and some arguments but it gave you enough time to get out of camp unnoticed. It didn't work, you'd spent so long staring down at Dutch before leaving that Sean was already out with his gun patrolling.

"Where are you going?" You heard the Irish accent ask as you attempted to sneak past. "Especially with that bag?!"
"Just out" You lied.
"It's like one in the morning, where are you going at one in the morning exactly" He continued to grill you.
"If you must know I'm doing some business with a young woman I met while out, we're meeting at the inn, said to be a lot of money in it, It's okay Dutch knows about it" The lie sounded awful but Sean seemed to shrug it off, even with an uncertain look in his eye.
"Oh," He started "Well, stay safe Ya hear?!" He laughed. God, you were going to miss that laugh. You started to walk away only to turn around and rush back to him pulling him into a tight hug.
"Thank you, Sean" You whispered.
"For what?" He asked surprised but hugged you back anyway.
"For being kind to me, you're a good man Mr Maguire" You felt a lump growing in your throat as your hands slipped away from him and you walked through the woodland towards Valentine.

You were going to spend the night in Valentine then figure out where you'd go from there.
You were thinking about looking for a job in some old women's manor just outside of a little place called Rhodes in Lemoyne or maybe a large civilised town called Saint-Denis.

You sat down on the bed in your rented room, the rumble of thunder in the distance, you were glad you'd stable up your horse earlier that day, you knew exactly when you were going to leave and at what time you knew you'd have to hide your horse in case Dutch decided he'd come and find you and the stable wouldn't be open at night.

You laid down and closed your eyes before drifting off into a deep slumber. I mean you had stayed up all night waiting for everyone to sleep, including Dutch, who decided he'd stay up reading for a few hours after you'd initially excused yourself from the campfire.

"Why haven't you talked to me?" You asked sitting down next to Dutch.
"About what?" He asked, the soft sound of wind and snow battering the wooden shack you were staying in, Colter, that's where you were.
"About what happened on that boat" You managed to say your hand slipping on to his, usually he would've held yours back or kissed it softly, but he didn't seem to care.
"What about it?" He seemed sensitive to this topic.
"Well.." You encouraged yourself to ask "I heard people saying you killed a young woman, a mother, in a bad way on that boat" You watched his jaw clench and his eyes narrow. "It doesn't matter" You stopped yourself, knowing you'd hit a nerve.
"No. Please. Continue" His words felt like venom "Tell me about how I'm an awful person for protecting our family!" His hand pulled away from yours leaving an ice cold feeling about the place.
"You know that's not what I'm saying Dutch!" You frowned standing up.
"What are you saying then exactly Miss L/N?!" He replied looking up at you almost offended.
"I was asking a simple question, I just wanted to know if the rumour was truthful or some camp chatter!" You raised your voice back at him, you were sure the camp could hear you, even though you were inside.
"Don't raise your voice at me, Miss" He warned.
"Surely it's true if you're getting all defensive!" You continued, not caring about his warning.
Without a second chance, he shouted, bellowed even.
"I told you to not raise your voice at me, what happened on that boat has nothing to do with you at all. You were not there, you have no say in the matter, do you understand that!" His face going red, it shook the cabin almost. You'd overstepped the line. Pushed him to the point of literally screaming at you. You felt bad, really bad, awful in fact. You walked out of the cabin head looking down, an ashamed feeling crawling up your chest, that held your lungs in a chokehold.